Bed service



Dec. 12, 1939. w. J. MALONEY BED SERVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 16, 1959 INVENTOR BY MT1-omas,

Dec. 12, 1939. w. J. MALONEY 2,183,265 v BED SERVICE Filed March 16, 1939 5 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT' OFFICE BED SERVICE William J. Maloney, Ansona, Conn.

Application March 16, 1939, Serial No. 262,182 claims. `(c1. 272-79) This invention relates to a bed service, particularly a device to be hung over an invalids or injured persons bed, either in the home or in a hospital, and has for an object to provide an -5 improved device of this nature which will assist the person in bed to get up, turn over or change his position, secure exercise and support an arm or leg at different positions or elevations tov make it more comfortable.

Another object is to provide such a construction which is simple and. may be easily applied or removed, and may be supported from a ceiling, a beam or framework over the bed.

With the foregoing and othervobjects in View I have devised a construction, one form of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specication, it being,how ever, understood that various changes and modifications may be employed within the scope of `20 the invention.

In these drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side View showing thedevice in use;

Fig. 2 is a view of the device looking from the left of Fig. 1 and on a larger scale;

Fig. 3 is aside view of the fixture for concealing the supporting means when the device is not 1n use;

Fig. 4 is a bottom View thereof;

Figs. 5 and 6 are side and bottom views respectively of the securing means for the hinge cover;

Fig. 'l is a side elevation of the pulleys for the sling supporting mechanism;

Fig. 8 is an edge view thereof;

Figs. 9 and 10 are an end view and longitudinal section respectively of one-half oan improved pulley that may be used;

f Fig. 11 is a side View of an improved sling construction; f 12 is an edge view thereof;

Fig. 13 is an elevation of a small portion of an edge of a sling showing the preferred construction of a binder for the edge;

Fig. 14 is a plan view of a separating element for the sling;

Fig. l5 is a sidev view of a holding clamp;

Fig. 16 is a bottom plan view thereof;

Fig. 17 is an'end view of this clamp;`

Fig. 18 is a side View of an improved exercise grip; and

Fig. 19 isa side view of the supporting element.

My improved device comprises a metal bar or rod I preferably covered with fab-ric 2 to give it a soft and less cold feel to the touchz and also give it better appearance and protection against rusting, which rod is bent laterally adjacent its upper end as indicated at 3 with a hook 4 at its lower end, the portion 3 being inclined to locate the hook 4 laterally from the upright porr5 tion I of the rod. At the lower end of the upright portion I is another hook 5. Although the ends 4 and 5 are preferably in effect loops in the form of hooks or having a gap in one side for entrance of ther element to be supported, they 10 may, if desired, be closed loops or eyes. The rod is supported from the ceiling ii or any other suitable support over the bed l, such as a beam or framework extending over the bed, by a hook 8 open at one side to receive the loop formed by 15 the bend 9 in the rod I. The hook may be secured in the support by any suitable means. In the present instance its shank Iii is threaded so as to be screwed into the support. To'prevent plaster or other loose dirt dropping from the v2 0 ceiling a felt washer or a washer of other suitable material II is provided on the shank I0 against the ceiling or support and is held in position by a metal clip or flange I2. Y This supporting hook is enclosed in a suitable 25 ornamental fixture I3 secured to the ceiling about the hook and having a lower open side covered by a hinged closure I4. This fixture and closure may be of, any suitable material as-metal, glass,

plastic, etc. and when the rod I and other ele- 3 0 ments supported thereby are removed the closure I4 may be closed, giving an ornamental fixture completely concealing thesupporting hook 8. The fixture I3 may be mounted by any suitable number of screws I5 in the rim thereof, and ,35 as shown in Fig. 4 if there are foury more of them the device may be mounted in any desired position with the assurance that the screws will enter a beam or any othersolid support. The closure I4 is hinged to the body at one side' as indi- 40 cated at IG and at its opposite edge is provided with a hinged latch I1 pivoted to the closure at I8 on which pivot is a coil spring I9 having one vend engaging the supporting bracket 20 andthe other end 2| engaging the latch member II. In 45 one edge this latch has a notch 22to receive a lug 23 on the body member to support the closure in the closed position. Above this'notch is an inclined wall 24 and on the opposite edge is` 'a hook 25. When the closure is swung from the de- 50 pending or dotted position ofliig. 3 to the closed or full line position the inclined edge 24 rides along the lug 23 pushing the latch to one side so that it snaps over the lug 23 as shown in Fig. 5, the spring I9 holding it in this position. 55

If it is desired to open the closure to permit placing the rod I over the supporting hook 8 all that is necessary is to hook the rod I over the hook 25 and pull the catch outwardly releasing the closure, or of course any other suitable device may be placed over the hook 25 for this purpose. It is preferred, however, that the rod I be made of suiiicient length so that a person standing by the side of the bed may use this rod to release the catch I1 without being required to stand on a chair, ladder or other raised support. To make the hook 25 more accessible the fixture is preferably located with the hook 25 facing toward the head or the front side of the bed. After the closure I4 is opened the rod I carrying the other elements of the device may be easily and quickly hooked over the supporting hook 6 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Mounted on the lower hook 5 of the rod I is a sort of ladder and exercising device comprising heavy cords or small ropes 26, and on these ropes or cords are mounted any desired number of grips or bars 21, 28 and 29. In the present case there are three of these grips, preferably wooden bars but they may be of metal or other suitable material. They are each provided with spaced openings through which the cords 26 pass, and they are held in the desired position on these cords by knots 30 in the cords under the bars. These bars are spaced vertically at a suitable distance so that the person in the bed can easily grip them and draw himself up or support himself to change his position or secure exercise. Any one or al1 of these bars may be provided with separate exercising means. In the present case the intermediate bar 28 is provided with transverse openings 3| outside the cords 26 through which are threaded elastic cords 32 which also pass through a tubular grip 33, the free ends of the elastic cord being knotted within this grip as indicated at 34. The party using it may grasp these grips 33 and through the elastic cords 32 secure exercise. If it is desired to have one or more of the grips supported out of the way, such for example as the lower bar 29, all that is necessary is to slide it up on the cords 26 and tie it to the bar 28 by the free ends of these cords or ropes.

To support an injured leg or arm a generally triangular shaped sling 35 of canvas or other suitable material is provided. This is of general U-shape as shown in Figs. 2 and 12 and the upper ends of its side walls are provided with loops 36 to receive triangular metal rings 31 as shown in Fig. 12 to support the sling from a snap hook 38 which is in turn supported by another cord or rope 39 running over a pulley 40 in a frame 4I supported by the hook 4. This is preferably a substantially U-shaped frame so that it may be easily hooked over the hook 4, and to prevent its coming out of the hook during handling of the device as when carrying or mounting it in position, a short chain 42 is provided extending between the hook 4 and the upright portion of the bar I. The frame 4I may carry one or more of the pulleys 4D. In the present case it carries a second pulley 43 so that two slings may be used if desired. The rope 39 supporting this sling is carried over its pulley and down to a position adjacent the user where it is provided with a hand grip 44. In the present case this is mounted by merely passing the cord through a longitudinal opening in this grip and looping it back where it is secured to the body of the cord by clips 45, which is a very simple and convenient way of mounting the grip.

Mounted on the upright portion of the rod I is a split clamp 46. This clamp as shown more clearly in Figs. 15 to 17 is made in two pieces 41 and 48 of wood, metal, plastic or other suitable material, clamped on opposite sides of the rod I by suitable bolts 49. In the ends it is provided with inclined grooves 59 to receive the rope 39 and on the opposite sides the members 41 and 48 are provided with transverse notches 5I Provided in the rope or cord 39 are a series of knots or other holding means 52 suitably spaced to retain the rope and the sling 35 at different positions. Thus the user has merely to pull on the rope 39 to raise the sling to the desired height and pass the rope 39 into the slot 59 to bring one of the knots 52 under the clamp 46 into one of the notches 5I. Thus the sling will be retained in the desired position. The groove 5D is inclined to facilitate entrance of the rope 39 into the groove. The angle of inclination may vary but I have found that an angle of about 24 degrees to be the most suitable. To release the slingto lower it all that the operator has to do .is to pull on the grip 44 or the portion of the rope 39 carrying it to draw the knot-32 from the notch 5I and slip the rope out of the groove 50. To support the grip 44 out of the way when not in use the lower bar 29 is preferably provided with a vertical notch or channel 53 at its ends and has a recess 54 in its top wall so that the rope 39 may be placed in this channel 53 and the loop seated in the notch 54 as shown in dotted lines Fig. 2.

The pulley construction may be a solid pulley or it may be a split pulley as shown at 49. This pulley comprises two sections 55 as shown in Figs. 9 and 10 with a closure 56 at its smaller end having an opening 51 for the pivot pin 58. Two of these sections placed end to end as shown in Fig. 7 complete the pulley and each section may be provided with a series of lugs or proiections 59 to be engaged by the rope 39 to more readily turn the pulley. Mounted on the inside of the frame 4I at one side thereof is resilient metal strap 69 having spring loops or hooks 6I and 62 at its opposite ends. These hooks or loops have restricted side openings 63 so that when thev rope or cord 39 is pressed into one of these hooks it will be gripped by the resilient action of the hook and held thereby. This is to facilitate handling of the device in carrying` it or settinlT it up in operative position to prevent the weight of the sling pulling the rope through the pullev. After the device is set up or mounted on the hook 8 the rope may be easily released from the hooks 6I or 62 by merely pulling downwardly on the rope which will carry it to its position on the pulley.

As above indicated the body of the sling 35 may be made of canvas or other suitable material, and at the top edge of the sides is provided with the loops 36 to receive the triangular rings 31. In the walls of this sling just below the loops 36 are mounted metal eyelets 64 to receive the spaced reduced projections 65 (Figs. 12 and 14) on the spacing device 66 which will hold the upper portions of the sling in the proper spaced relation to permit easy access to an arm or leg supported in the sling for examination or other purposes. This spacing device 65 is preferably constructed so that its length may be varied to vary the spacing part of the sides of the sling.

For this purpose it is made of two overlapped members 61 and 68, one of which has an elongated slot 69 through which bolts 'l0 carried by the other member project. It will be evident that by loosening these bolts the two elements may be adjusted relative toy each other to vary 'the length of the spacing device and then may be clamped in adjusted position.

Secured on the outer surface of the side portions of the sling 35 are elastic strips 1l, one on each side. These may be secured to the body of the sling 35 by any suitable means such as stitching l2. At the upper ends of these elastic members are mounted non-elastic loops 13 to receive the metal triangular rings 3l. These are used as shown in Figs. 2 and 11 to support the sling when an elastic or yielding sling is desired, and if desired these strips 'H may be provided with the eyelets 64 or the sides of the sling may be held by the spacing bar 66 when the sling is supported by the elastic elements 1I. When it is desired to change the rings 3l from the canvas loops 36 to the loops 13 of the elastic elements or vice-versa all that is necessary is to slide one edge of the loop along the lower bar 14 of the triangular ring 31 until it comes to a central gap l5 in this bar when it may be slipped through this gap and the loop passed off the ring. Another loop may be placed on the ring by a reverse operation, that is, inserting one edge of the loop through the gap l5 on to one side of the bar and pressing the other end of the loop toward it until it can be passed through Athe gap when the loop can then be spread or expanded over the bar to the normal position. The edges of the sling 35 may be bound to prevent raveling by folding over the edge portion and stitching, by means of a separate binder or other suitable means, but I prefer to use over the edge stitching 76 as shown in Fig. 13, and I prefer for the stitching what is known as the Merrow stitch as it can be easily and quickly applied, is very effective in binding the edge and isI attractivein appearance.

It will be evident from the foregoing that the device is simple in construction and can be provided at much less cost than some of theI complicated framework which have been previously provided It is of light weight and can be easily carried and set up in position for use. It can be as easily taken down, and when not in use can be readily stored in a closet or other available space, but it does not require a great deal of space for such storage. It will greatly assist the person in the bed to get up or shift his position and will make it much easier and less painful for a person, say with a broken limb, to change his position or move about in the bed. The person in the bed can easily adjust the height or the position of the sling to secure the most comfortable position at any timedesired. If the hook 8 is arranged so that the inclined portion 3 of thesupporting rod extends therefrom toward the foot of the bed, then because of this inclined portion, when the Weight of a leg is placed in the sling the rod will tip in the hook and swing the other portion 2 of the rod forwardly to carry the grips 21, 28 and 29 forwardly into more easy reach of the patient. If the sling is not in use its support may be used to carry a' basket or a tray for flowers or other articles. Its numerous advantages will be apparent. When the device is removed from the hook and stored away the hook is enclosed and covered by an attractive ornamental fixture.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

1. Ina device of the character described, a hook element to be mounted in a ceiling or other support over a bed, an upright metal rod bent laterally adjacent its upper end to form a bend to seat in said hook, a hook in the upper end of the rod, a pulley carried thereby, a rope running over the pulley carrying a series of spacedy knots, a sling carried by one end of the rope, a hand grip on the other end of the rope, and means on the rod cooperating With said knots to retain the sling in different positions.

2. In a device of the character described, an upright rod bent laterally at its upper end to engage in a supporting hook depending from a ceiling or other support over a bed, a pulley device depending from the upper end of the rod, a rope running over said pulley carrying means for supporting a sling at one end and a hand grip at the other end, a holding means on the rod comprising a pair of members clamped on opposite sides of the rod and having an inclined groove in one end to receive the rope, and a series of spaced knots in the rope, said groove being adapted to receive the rope and hold it in different positions by engagement of the knots under the holding means.

3. In a device of the character described, an upright rod bent laterally at its upper end to engage in a supporting hook depending from a ceiling or other support over a bed, a rope depending from the upper end of the rod carrying a sling supporting means at one end, a hand grip at the other end and having a series of spaced knots therein, a holding means on the rod compising a pair of members clamped to the rod having an inclined groove in the end thereof and a notch in the under side adjacent the groove, said groove being adapted to receive the rope with a knot in the notch to hold the rope in different positions.

4. In a device of the character described, an upright rod bent laterally at its upper end to engage in a supporting hook depending from a ceiling or other support over a bed, a rope depending from the upper end of the rod having a sling supportingmeans at one end and a hand grip at the other end, a sling supported from said means comprising a flexible body member with upright sides having loops at their upper ends, elasticy strips secured to the outer surfaces of said sides and also having loops at their` upper v ends, and metal rings adapted to pass through either set of loops and depending from the sling supporting means to carry the sling.

5. In a bed service of thecharacter described, a pulley device to depend from a support mounted over a bed comprising a frame including spaced side members, a pulley carried between the side members, a rope running over the pulley carrying a supporting sling at one end and a hand grip at the other in easy reach of a person in the bed, yand a downwardly opening spring hook at the inner side of a side member above the pulley adapted toreceive the rope and grip it to hold it above the pulley but to release the rope so it may move to the pulley on a downward pull on both sides of the rope.

WILLIAM J. MALONEY. 

